Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-07-14

ut was when was green young lawyer
replied HILL II had a case in which Judge
Waite, then noted Toledo lawyer, was en-
ployed by the opposite side. Waite had al
ready made a great reputation, and I ap-
preached the case with fear and trembling.
We took the testimony together in private,
and after we had it all before us, before we
had submitted it to the judge, Mr.. Waite
asked me to 60 over and lunch with him
During our lunch he told me that he thought
we could settle that case just as well as Judge
Latty, and asked me if would be willing
for him to fix the terms of settlement. I re-
piled that that was rather strange method
of procedure and l would like to know how
he would settle it first He then made a
plain statement Of the justice Of the case, and
proposed settlement in accordance with
this His idea as to how the case should be
settled was exactly the same as mine, and
/ could not have asked for better
treatment. I don't believe that Waite
ever advocated the cause Of a dishonest
client, and don't think he would hav We taken
a case which he thought contrary to Justice.
He might have made fortune at his law had
he charged the ordinary fees, for he had a
very large practice. He was not very rich
when he was elected chief justice, and don't
imagine he is what would be called wealthy
now. He made one large fee that know of
and that was 900 which he received for
his services in connection with the Atlantic
and Great Western railroad cases. He has a
house in Washington and some property in
Toledo He has son who is lawyer in To
ledo, and his daughter, Miss Mary, is a very
accomplished young lady"
From the history of the Waite family get
some very interesting facts. The Waites
originally came from England, and Thomas
Waite, one of Chief Justice Waite's ancestors
was one OF the judges who signed the death
warrant of Charles II. The Waites have q
coat of arms which was granted to the fam
lily in 1919. The family settled in Massachu-
sets at an early date and there intermarried
with the Griswolds, and the Waites for a long
time seemed to have adopted the legal profess
sion. Marvin Waite, who cast his vote for
George Washington for president, was a
county judge. l have already said that
there were judges in the family in Eng
land, and Waite's father was chief justice of
the Connecticut supreme court. Unlike his
son, however, Waite's father retired when he
got to be TO- and he died at the age of So.
Waite's greatgrandmother was a large, hand
some woman, but SO religious that she never
allowed any cooking or sweeping in her house
on Sundays, and the family had to put up
with cold victuals. Yale has been the college
to which Waite's ancestors in this country
have uniformly gone, and it is curious fact
that Chief Justice Waite's wife was his second
cousin and that both himself and his wife
have the same maternal greatgrandlfather,
Col. Seldom, OF revolutionary fame The
house in which Waite was born still stands at
Lyme, Conn. 1t is a comfortable two story
building with ridge roof and with pretty
lawn surrounding it. His home in Washing
ton is q wide brown stone building of three
or four stories, on l street, between Four
teenth and Fifteenth. He lives well and often
gives dinners to his fellow judges and the
other noted people of Washington society
.**
saw Chief Justice Waite a few days be-
fore left Washington. He has entirely re-
covered from his illness of year or so ago,
and he appears to be able to stick to the su-
preme bench as long as life sticks to his bones
He is already eligible to retirement, but like
other Of his fellow septuagenarians of the su-
preme court he prefers to earn his salary to
having the government pension him at the
rate of $4,000 year.
He wears his 20 years exceedingly we'll
His eye is bright and his step is firm, and
the wrinkles in his dark square face are
few. His beard is, however, beginning to
grow gray and his black hair is already
tinged with bright silver He makes an excel.
lent Chief Justice, and the integrity Of his
decisions has never been questioned.
FRANK G. CARPENTER,